


the gold and the glimmer, lights and the shimmer

by atlantisairlock



Series: Hello Operator, Please Give Me Number Nine Nine [2]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Best Friends, Ensemble Cast, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 21:32:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3224177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlantisairlock/pseuds/atlantisairlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy Santiago has known she was Magical with a capital M since she was like, what, four? and she did that thing during the giant family reunion where she somehow managed to levitate the entire basket of buñuelo off the dining table so she could eat her fill in the garden.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the gold and the glimmer, lights and the shimmer

Amy Santiago has known she was Magical with a capital M since she was like, what, four? and she did that thing during the giant family reunion where she somehow managed to levitate the entire basket of buñuelo off the dining table so she could eat her fill in the garden. Which, she has to qualify, was  _totally_ forgivable because her seven brothers would have stolen all of it without giving her any, and prevention is better than cure.

Apparently the odds are incredible, that she's the only one in the whole family who inherited the magic from somewhere in their bloodline. Amy's parents take the arrival of her letter surprisingly level-headedly, and a quick chat with the Headmistress is enough reassurance for them to send her packing. Her brothers take the news much less contentedly, and it's with a smug countenance that Amy boards the train at Platform 9 and 3/4, leaving behind her grumbling siblings and concerned, loving parents.

The first course of action, naturally, is to find somewhere in the train where she can park herself until they reach this magical school where she can  _finally_ develop her full potential. Amy is already dreaming about power in her hands; power to change the world for the better, to change  _herself_ for the better. It's with a head full of ambitions that she opens one carriage door that's been left ajar and stares in.

Four pairs of eyes stare back. Amy quickly gives them all a once-over. There's a brunet boy with a mischievous expression in his eyes lounging on the seat, one arm slung around the shoulders of a smaller, scrawny figure who has his mouth full with something resembling half of a frog-shaped chocolate. His free hand rests comfortably in another girl's, who's currently slouched right under the window. Seated opposite them is a dark-haired, dark-eyed girl who's half a head taller than Amy is, a frown on her face.

Hmm. They look... interesting, at least. Amy puts on a smile she hopes is cheery. "Can I sit here?" 

Brunet Boy shoots her a wide grin. "Sure! Come on in. You can sit with Rosa." He gestures vaguely at the seats opposite him, and Amy guesses that Taller Girl must be Rosa. 

"Thank you," she says politely, making her way inside and shutting the carriage door firmly behind her. "My name's Amy Santiago."

 

 

Jake Peralta has known how to read people for, like, his whole life. Case in point: the first time he met Charles, Gina and Rosa, on three different occasions, he already knew from the very beginning that they were going to be best friends for life.

And he can totally tell that Amy Santiago is going to be super-special.

"Hi, Amy," he responds to her greeting. "I'm Jake, and this is - "

 _"Rosa,"_ Rosa scowls, folding her arms. "I can speak for myself."

"I'm Charles!" His best friend bounces on the seat, smiling up at Amy with his trademark happy beam. 

"Woah, slow down, no need to go all snuggle-wuggle best friendy on her yet," Gina drawls from Jake's other side, but she nods at Amy anyway. "I'm a queen and one day I'm going to rule the world and get married to Jake and stuff."

Amy furrows her brow in mild confusion, and Rosa barks one of her very rare laughs, briefly patting the seat next to her. "Don't freak her out before we're even at Hogwarts, Gina. Sit down, Amy."

And just like that, of course, they're on first name basis. A bunch of eleven-year-olds off to a magic school, with all kinds of cool subjects to study and it's going to be the best thing ever. 

The trolley comes down the aisle and the trolley lady peers in with a kindly face, asking if any of them want anything. Amy's eyes light up along with all of them's, and yeah, Jake just knows that she's going to be one of his best friends, too.

 

 

The first thing Amy properly discovers about this group of people is that they are  _cool._ All of them have grown up knowing magic all their lives and they're all falling over one another to explain to their Muggleborn newcomer what Hogwarts is all about. Charles enthuses about the Sorting, Jake cracks a whole bunch of jokes, and Gina muses about this thing called the Giant Squid that makes Amy shiver in her boots just a little. Rosa is the most helpful of all of them, really, giving her a terse, informative rundown about what she should expect once they get there. 

They share their Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes with her, and they include her in the conversation, and they make her feel welcome in the way that only 11-year-olds can do. And Amy knows she's been looking forward to this ever since the letter first came, ever since she started packing, but this ragtag bunch of kids is making her feel, for the first time, like she really belongs here.

And she wants to. She does. 

Amy Santiago is just a child, but in the depths of her heart, she just  _knows_ that no matter what, she's going to be friends with these people for life.

 

 

They talk and they snack and they nap a little, and before long they're finally in Hogwarts and -  _wow._

It's more amazing than any of them imagined. It's huge, and everything is so overwhelming and brilliant, and something settles inside all five of them. Something innate, deeper than they can comprehend as of yet - the knowledge that in so many ways, this place is becoming  _home._

The Sorting is nerve-wracking. While the Hat is singing its song, the five of them glance around at one another with the inherent understanding that the bond that they've created on this first train ride in will last, no matter what houses they are sorted into. 

Charles is called up almost immediately, and there's a blinding smile on his face when the Hat shouts  _Gryffindor_ just moments after it settles on his head. Jake reaches out his hand and mouths  _up-top!_ and joins Charles at the sea of red not too long after. The Hat is silent for a long time when it comes to Rosa before it sorts her into Hufflepuff, and surprisingly not as long when it comes to sorting Gina in Ravenclaw.

When it comes to Amy, far down the list of names, alone with all her new friends already seated at their tables, she's more afraid than she expected to be. The Hat must be able to sense her fear, she thinks, because it speaks rather reassuringly when it's her turn. She listens to it run through her qualities,  and later learns that she was the first Near-Hatstall of that batch of First Years. 

She's loyal, and hardworking, the Hat considers. And she would certainly be a valuable asset to Hufflepuff, but no, that isn't where her heart lies. Indubitably intelligent, too, but her brains and wit aren't necessarily what she views as her greatest strengths. She's got great confidence within her, but what exactly is she so assured about?

 _Ambition,_ the Hat whispers to her, and Amy's known  _that_ all her life, too. She embodies a little of every house in her. But every single trait that she fits where it comes to every house just leads back to one thing. It always has.

 _Good luck, future Head Girl,_ and the Hat calls out her house. "Slytherin!"

Gina holds out a fist for her to bump when she takes her seat, Rosa catches her eye and grins, from across the hall Jake and Charles whoop as loudly as possible to the point that they receive a few glares, and Amy feels a rush of _something_ beyond what words can properly express flood her.

She's going to finally be able to bring herself to greater heights, she's got a bunch of great friends, and she's definitely going to become Head Girl someday, and so much more.

Amy Santiago grins, and settles into the magic.

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: in this au, they're accepted to hogwarts even though b99 is set in america + sorted the team based on the qualities they might not necessarily possess in the truest sense of the word, but the qualities I understand them to admire, treasure and most appreciate.


End file.
